Profile

Dr. Putnam has extensive experience in the surgical management of a wide spectrum of thoracic diseases including lung cancer, esophageal cancer, pulmonary metastases, benign and malignant pleural diseases, and mediastinal and chest wall tumors. He has expertise in resection of complex thoracic tumors including advanced cancers, the multi-disciplinary management of these thoracic neoplasms, and reoperative thoracic surgery.Read more...

Dr. Putnam has extensive experience in the surgical management of a wide spectrum of thoracic diseases including lung cancer, esophageal cancer, pulmonary metastases, benign and malignant pleural diseases, and mediastinal and chest wall tumors. He has expertise in resection of complex thoracic tumors including advanced cancers, the multi-disciplinary management of these thoracic neoplasms, and reoperative thoracic surgery. His research has focused on improving outcomes in thoracic surgery, and evaluating novel therapies for thoracic diseases.

Dr. Putnam was born in Franklin, North Carolina. In 1975, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his A.B. with honors in Chemistry and Zoology; remaining at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Putnam received his M.D., in 1979. Following that he completed his surgical internship and year as the Junior Assistant Resident in Surgery, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Putnam spent three years in a Medical Staff Fellowship with the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1986 he completed his General Surgery residency at The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York, as a Senior Assistant Resident and Chief Resident in Surgery.

Dr. Putnam received additional specialty training in Thoracic Surgery at The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) from 1986 to 1988. He joined the staff of The Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1988 as an Assistant Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery. In 1994 he was promoted to the position of Associate Surgeon and Associate Professor of Surgery, and in 1995, he assumed the duties as Deputy Chairman of the department.

Dr. Putnam was recently been appointed Chair to the newly created Department of Thoracic Surgery, and Program Director for the residency education program in Thoracic Surgery. He has a secondary appointment as Professor within the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Putnam joins the Vanderbilt faculty from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he most recently was Professor of Surgery, and Deputy Chair, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. During Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991) he assumed Department Head responsibilities in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Naval Hospital San Diego. Dr. Putnam currently holds the rank of Captain, Medical Corps, United States Naval Reserves.

Dr. Putnam is board certified in Surgery and Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, and a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He has been instrumental in introducing the Video-assisted Thoracoscopy (VATS) techniques into surgery at M. D. Anderson through hands-on training courses.

He has also instructed surgeons in several foreign countries on the use of VATS to enhance their surgery efforts. Dr. Putnam has served on various UTMDACC committees, and is currently an active participant on 12 committees. In addition, he is a member of 19 national, international, and state societies and serves on six local, state, national or international committees.

Education

Degree-Granting Education

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Doctor of Medicine, 1975-1979

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, AB with Honors in Chemistry,1971-75

Postgraduate Training

Resident in Thoracic Surgery, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 1986-1988

Chief Resident in Surgery, The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 1985-1986

Senior Assistant Resident in Surgery, The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 1984-1985